Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
S

Studiengesellschaft Kohle v. Shell Oil Co.

112 F.3d 1561 (1997)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Studiengesellschaft Kohle v. Shell Oil Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
112 F.3d 1561 (1997)

Facts

Studiengesellschaft Kohle, MBH (Kohle) (plaintiff) was the licensing arm of a German research and educational organization and the owner of several patents on processes used to make high-molecular plastics, including polypropylene. Kohle licensed Shell Oil Company (Shell) (defendant) to use certain patents beginning in 1974. After multiple disputes over one of the patents (‘698 patent), Shell and Kohle renegotiated the license in 1987. The new terms provided Shell with a paid-up license to produce 450 million pounds of polypropylene per year, with a 1.5 percent running royalty on annual polypropylene sales exceeding 450 million pounds. Also in 1987, Shell began to produce polypropylene by an alleged new process in Seadrift, Texas (Seadrift process). Shell contended that the ‘698 patent did not cover the Seadrift process. Therefore, Shell did not pay royalties to Kohle, in violation of the license agreement, on polypropylene produced by the Seadrift process. Kohle terminated the license in 1993 and brought an action for unpaid royalties from 1987 through 1993 and infringement of the ‘698 patent from 1993 through 1995. Shell moved for summary judgment, challenging the validity of the ‘698 patent. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Shell, and Kohle appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Rader, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Intellectual Property

Key Terms